Category Archives: Strength Training

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One of the great things about being able to work out at home is that I have the flexibility to work out when it fits my schedule, not having to worry about getting to a class on time or being in the weight room after work when everyone and their mother is in there. I love to be at the gym in the weight room, but that’s not always possible these days. Because of our home gym, I can squeeze a workout in during Isabelle’s nap time or later in the evening, and not have that crazy mom guilt about taking time away from her either. But while working out at home is convenient, it can be repetitive and monotonous if I let it, especially since I only have a certain amount of equipment.

That’s why I’m always so excited to add some new equipment to our home gym. I’ve had several people ask me over the years about the “must have” fitness equipment if you’re going to be working out at home. And the true answer is that it’s different for everyone. Whatever is going to get you motivated to move is what is right for you — but there are a few things that I prefer over others due to their versatility and ability to be used for full body workouts, not just one singular muscle group.

And that’s exactly what I’m posting about today! I was recently contacted by Rep Fitness, a fitness equipment company out of Colorado, who asked me if I was interested in trying out some of their equipment. I didn’t hesitate to say yes, and after looking through their available equipment I was excited to see that I could try out a sand bag, which would be a great addition to our workout arsenal. Already having (and loving) battling ropes, rings, and kettle bells, I thought this would be one more thing that I could get a little bit creative with.

I spent the last week playing around with it during my workouts, figuring out exactly what I wanted to share with you all today. And the truth is, the sand bag is so versatile that I’m giving you not one but two(!) workouts — one for beginners, and one for those at the intermediate or advanced level. The key thing to remember here is that what makes the sandbag great is not even the piece of equipment itself, but what it forces you to do. Because the weight is dynamic (the sand and bag will shift during movement), you have to pay a lot more attention to form and core stability throughout every single exercise. For those who tend to get a little lazy when working out at home and just “go through the motions”, the sandbag won’t really let you do that. It takes focus and constant adjusting due to the movement of the weight.

Are you sold yet? If you have a sandbag available to you at home or at your gym, give one of these workouts a try! New equipment can be indimidating, but with a little practice, focus, and confidence, the sand bag can become a permanent fixture in your workout routine. And if you don’t have one available to you, consider heading over to Rep Fitness to pick one out for yourself. I went with the classic black, but you could also style it up with a red or camo print bag!

What I love about this particular bag, compared to others I’ve used, is that it feels solid in my hands, even with 50 lb of sand in it. The handles are comfortable to hold, and the construction of the bag is comfortable to use — when slinging these things around any rough edges or seams can be irritating. But this bag is smooth and solid. And to top off the versatility of this piece, you can fill it anywhere between 25-75 lb. I used both sleeves and put about 25 lb of sand in both, so that I can easily take one out and have a 25 lb bag or a 50 lb bag, depending on the exercises I’m doing that day (or during that particular set).

First, the beginner workout:

Sumo Squat

Front Loaded Get Ups

Back Loaded Lunges

Farmers Carry

Dead Bugs

*Notes:

For each exercise: Give a lot of focus to your core. Maintain a strong core throughout each and every exercise, paying special attention to movement of the bag. These exercises should be done with one sand sleeve in place (25 lb or less), until you master the movements and weight.

Front Loaded Get Ups: You will start in a high kneeling position. While maintaining a strong core, step forward to standing with your back leg, squeezing glutes at the top and making sure not to arch back or lean forward. Slowly return to starting position, then switch legs once in original high kneeling position.

Farmers Carry: Again maintaining a strong core, hold sand bag at your side with an extended straight arm. Be sure to keep your shoulder from creeping up on that side, and also be careful not to lean towards or away from weight. Walk steadily for 20 yards, placing bag on the ground. Turn around, picking up bag with the other hand, and return to starting point.

Dead Bugs: Begin with both legs in the air, and sandbag held straight up overhead. Slowly lower one leg to the ground, keeping a strong core and your low back pressed flush to the ground. Return leg to top, and lower opposite leg. These should be very slow and controlled.

Intermediate Workout:

Front Squat

Single Leg RDLs

Overhead Press

Lunge With Twist

Plank Pull Throughs

*Notes:

A/B Exercises: These are supersets, to be performed with one set of each, back to back, until you’ve completed 3 sets of each.

The weight: For this workout, the goal is to use the heavier sandbag for exercises 1A, 1B, and 2, and then remove one of the sand sleeves to have a lower weight for 3-4. For me, this was 50 lb and then 25 lb.

Plank Pull Throughs: Try to keep your body in as straight of a line as possible from head to toes. Try not to shift your hips or arch your back too much, especially while manipulating the bag. My hips are a bit too high in the photo.

OHP: Overhead Press. I played around with these a little bit, because it’s tough to get a good firm hold for overhead movements with the bag. I found it best for me to use the handles that are parallel to the length of the bag, holding it so that the weight is supported on my knuckles (see picture).

Do you have access to a sandbag? Give one of these a try and let me know how it goes! Or head on over to Rep Fitness and pick one out for yourself. You won’t regret it. And don’t forget to smile!

Disclaimer: I was provided with a sandbag in compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

If you do a lot of reading about strength training, or are familiar with the female strength and conditioning world, you’ve probably heard Jen Sinkler‘s famous line. When asked how she works out, her reply was “I lift weights”. Well what about cardio? “I lift weights faster”.

Weight room and cardio combined? Sign me up.

“Lift weights faster” has become sort of a creed in the fitness world, and for good reason. It’s not always necessary to spend long, drawn out sessions on the treadmill or elliptical in order to get your cardio in. It’s just as easy to get cardio in by simply “lifting weights faster”, if that’s more your speed (pardon the pun). If you enjoy your time on the treadmill as a way to de-stress, that’s one thing. But if you’re hating every second of it, and doing it just because you think you need to, well, you’re in luck.

But when many people hear this, they don’t quite understand what this means. Do you literally just lift your weights at lightning speed? Won’t that lead to bad form and maybe injuries? And won’t you look just a little bit ridiculous?

So today, we’re going to get into a few of the ways in which I typically “lift weights faster”. These are great ways to sneak workouts in when I don’t have a ton of time, but you can also stretch them out and get in a nice long, full workout as well.

When I’m doing one of these types of workouts, weights are not at or near my max. I keep the weights to a level where they are challenging for the sets that I will be doing, but remember that you’re generally doing more reps, and that these are not true strength building days.

Ladder Sets

I use ladder sets when I am really strapped for time and have a couple of exercises that I can string together for full body workout in just a few minutes. I’ll also use a ladder set as a finisher at the end of a strength day, doing just one round for speed. For a ladder set, you will start with a higher number of reps — let’s go with 10, for this example. Perform 10 reps of exercise A, 10 reps of exercise B, then 8 of each, then 6 of each, all the way down to 2. After you reach 2 reps of each exercise that you have chosen, start again with 2 and build your way back up to 10.

The beauty of ladder sets is that you have to so much freedom to get creative. For heavier exercises, I would stick with the 10-2 rep scheme. But for more cardio based exercises, such as body weight jump squats, or KB swings, you could go into a larger rep range, doing 20, then 15, 10, and 5 reps before building back up.

Some suggested pairings for ladder sets, although the possibilities are endless:

– Ring assisted pistol squats with ring inverted rows

– Jump squats with skater jumps

-Kettlebell swings

-Burpees

-Bulgarian split squats with elevated push ups.

Super Set Everything

To lift your weights faster, you can also just super set everything, cutting way down on the rest and recovery time in between sets. Remember, this is not done at max weight loads, since you’ll risk injury without the proper recovery between sets/exercises. To superset simply means to do two separate exercises back to back, generally with opposing muscle groups, without resting in between. Say you have 8 exercises that you plan on doing in your lift. You can superset these into 4 sets of exercises, alternating between each set of 2 with little to no rest, instead of resting between each set of each of your 8 exercises. Some common lifts that I superset are:

-Barbell Squat with overhead press

-RDL (romanian deadlift) with bent over dumbbell row

-Barbell reverse lunge with push up

Active Recovery Between Sets

This will vary slightly from supersets, although you’re still completing sets of two separate exercises back to back. However, the difference here is that the “in between” exercise is more of an active recovery than an actual lift. You’ll be keeping your body moving and heart rate up, but this secondary exercise will be more about recovery and mobility than building strength. This is done in the same manner as super sets, in which you complete the active recovery exercise between lift sets instead of resting. Some common active recovery exercises that I use between lifts are:

-Spiderman Lunges

-Medicine ball lunge/twist

-Downdog/Push-up/Up-dog repetitions

-Body weight deep side lunges

You can also check out this post for some additional hip mobility exercises that you could use here as well.

Barbell Complexes

Barbell complexes are probably one of the most common ways to “lift weights faster” in the strength training world. All it takes is a barbell loaded up with relatively light weight, and a string of movements that you’ll do with little to no rest. I usually try to string together about 5 different movements, and will go for 4-5 rounds of a complex. These can be extremely taxing, so go lighter on the weights than you think you might need to — maybe even just the barbell for the first time you try one of these. Especially if you’re stringing together both upper and lower body movements, you’ll need that weight to be fairly light to get through all of the reps with little to no rest.

A barbell complex will get your heart pumping and breath elevated like no other, so get ready to work!! Below is an example that I’ve posted previously, but as with the other ideas here, there are endless combinations you can do for an effective workout. Just remember to rest thoroughly between each complex, and work with a weight that allows you to maintain proper form for every exercise. If you feel yourself fatiguing to the point where form is compromised, stop and rest in the middle of a complex, and/or lessen your weight/reps.

Readers: In what form do you prefer your cardio? Weight room or traditional?

Before I got pregnant, I was deadlifting 240 lb. I was muscular, strong, and took pride in my abilities in the weight room. I had glutes that I was proud of, glutes that were strong enough for heavy squats, deadlifts, and kettlebell swings.

Before I got pregnant, I could once do 8 unassisted chin ups. I did chin ups and pull ups nearly every day, just for fun.

Before I got pregnant, I could run the full stadium at Harvard without breaks, and would do so at 6:30 am.

Before I got pregnant, I could overhead press 85 lb.

Now? I haven’t set foot in the weight room since I was about 8 months pregnant. I haven’t touched a barbell in months. I’ve been on exactly one run, and I can no longer do even one unassisted chin up.

You might think I’m upset about this.

And I could be, if it weren’t for one simple thing: perspective.

Sure, I may be lifting right now with a 15 lb, a 16 kg (35 lb), and a 24 kg (53 lb) kettlebell, but here’s where perspective comes in:

That 15 lb kettlebell felt heavy to me after my C-section and 6 week post op recovery time. I remember picking it up and being shocked and saddened at how heavy it felt.

Now? It’s light again, and I now use it for warm up movements, like I used to. Progress.

That 35 lb KB? That one felt like a monster after my postpartum recovery. I remember the first time I tried to do goblet squats with it, I felt like my core would never support me again. Now? They’re easy. It’s a moderate weight, and I’m using it for many movements, both single leg and double leg. I’ve moved on from using it for my KB swings, because I finally need something heavier. Progress.

That 53 lb KB? Forget about that one after recovery– that felt like a dream and a lifetime away. Now? I’m using it for single leg RDLs, goblet squats, and KB swings. Progress.

My push-ups have gotten stronger, my endurance better.

My chin ups? Yes, those are coming back too, slowly but surely.

None of these weights would have made me proud before. They would have been warm ups, helping me to prep and groove patterns for heavier weights.

Now though? I am so proud of where I’m at and how far I’ve come so far. Considering I still haven’t stepped foot in a gym, and my workouts mostly consist of a few 20-30 min bursts throughout the week, I think I’ve done quite well. I may not be maxing out my big lifts anytime soon, but I’m seeing consistent progress, and that’s really all that matters.

It doesn’t matter how much you could lift before X event, or how fast or long you could run, or how many muscle ups you could do. Life happens, we have ups and downs, and that’s just something we need to accept. If we’re always thinking back to our best and comparing ourselves now, that’s not fair. Your mind and your body change as you move throughout life. My body is not the same body that dead lifted 240 lb– it’s been through a whole lot since then, so how can I keep comparing my self now to myself then? In order to be fair to myself, I have to shift my perspective. I have to focus on where I’m at now, instead of where I was.

As life changes, some obstacles get bigger, some get smaller, and some new ones crop up all together. With all of these things that change us, our bodies, our minds, it’s unfair to expect things to always go back to some ideal moment that you once had. I am far, far from that deadlift max right now. But to expect that from this body, my now body? Well that would be unfair.

So if you’re feeling like you’re failing because you can’t do something you once could, or because you don’t look like you once did, think again. Think of what your body and mind have been through since that time, and focus on the progress you’re making now. Shift your perspective to the present, and you’ll probably find that you’re doing a lot better than you thought!

Progress isn’t always perfect, and it’s not always linear. It’s not always even obvious. But take a moment to shift your perspective, and you might be pleasantly surprised at the amount of progress that you’ve made in this “now” version of you.

My oh my, it’s been a little while since a Workout Wednesday post appeared here on I Train Therefore I Eat!

(Side note, I just realized that I could call this ITTIE… and while it’s kind of cute, it kind of reminds me of another word that I’d rather not have my blog called. So… yeah.)

Get ready, because we’ve got this one and then another one all lined up for next week already. I know, I know: Steph planning ahead? What is this about? Turning over a new leaf my friends.

At least momentarily.

Anyway, today I have a new lift for you. I’m certainly not saying that I made it up, but I haven’t seen/done it before so it’s new to me! I popped this into my workout a couple of weeks ago on a whim, when I wanted a little bit of extra glute/posterior chain work but my SI joints were a little too angry for heavy RDLs, deadlifts, good mornings, or any of the usual posterior chain lifts.

And for some reason, I hate doing SL RDLs with dumbbells. There is no explanation for this, I just would much rather do them holding on to a barbell than the DBs, so this was a perfect substitute for me while keeping them relatively light.

Introducing the Cable Single Leg RDL (with optional row).

This is an accessory lift to your lower body or posterior chain days, primarily targeting the glutes and hamstrings, and also challenging components of your adductors/abductors and hip stabilizers.

The Setup

Stand facing the cable machine with the rope handle attachment set down low. Grasp the ropes with your palms facing each other. Step back so that you’re in a hip hinge position with your arms extended out in front of you, weight stack still resting so that there is no external load yet.

The Action

Brace your core, ensure your back is nice and flat, and raise one leg straight behind you. Hinge up to top, bringing top leg down towards ground leg, as in a traditional RDL. At top, add in optional horizontal row, bending elbows and bringing hands to sides, palms still facing in. Reverse the motion. Complete all reps one one side before switching to the opposite side.

Keeping those SI joints happy at 29 weeks pregnant is a bit of a challenge!

Special Notes

It is extremely important in this lift to be conscious of your back position throughout the movement. Because the weight stack will be pulling your center of gravity further out in front of you than you would normally have with an RDL, it is not recommended to go extremely heavy with these. Form is key to keeping this a healthy movement, and it’s a great lift to help groove your hip hinge movement pattern, particularly with single leg variations.

As mentioned above, this is simply another accessory lift for your lower body. This is not better or worse than dumbbell RDLs, but rather provides your body with a slightly different line of pull, thus challenging the muscles in a slightly different way. You could certainly do this as a traditional RDL as well, which would essentially be the reverse of a glute pull through (another of my favorites).

To program these, as I mentioned above I would keep them relatively light, especially if it’s a new movement for you. I would recommend adding these in to one or two lift days per week, starting with an 8-12 rep range. Increase weight as tolerated, and utilize them in addition to other accessory lower body lifts.

Readers: Give it a try and let me know how you like it! I’ve done these a few times now, and they’re pretty quickly turning into one of my favorite posterior chain accessory lifts, so hopefully you feel the same! Has anyone done this variation of an RDL before?

While today is not exactly a Workout Wednesday post, it is something important that I think is worth going over.

These days, there are tons of fitness professionals offering online training (myself included!), or distance coaching programs. These can be excellent if you can’t afford personal training, or if you want to work with someone who is outside of your geographical area. The internet has allowed us to be able to reach clients just about anywhere, no longer being limited to those who live in our general vicinity.

But with this, comes some pretty serious responsibility. If you are doing a program that has been created by someone and has been sent to you without an in-person assessment (as is the case with most online programs), there are certain things to know ahead of time in order to keep yourself safe.

How should you properly warm up? How do you know when to back off or take a rest day? How do you know when to push yourself harder? But most importantly — how do you know that you’re doing the exercises correctly?

Some coaches will send you a program and you’re on your own. Some coaches will send you descriptions and/or videos of exercises so that you can make sure your form is correct. And some will even go so far as to schedule video/skype sessions to monitor your form on specific movements, noting ways in which you can improve to make your workout safer and more effective. I offer the last two of these options (both PDF descriptions and skype check-ins, as either of these can be beneficial depending on the client). Click [HERE] for more info.

When it comes to exercise form, however, there are some lifts, particularly if you are involved in a heavy lifting type of program, that you should really have checked out in person by a qualified professional before attempting them on your own. Certain lifts can be extremely technical, and without proper form and real-time cues can lead to injury and/or inefficient training. And while obviously none of us want to get hurt, inefficiency in training is also a huge no-no. Why waste time on a program if you’re not going to get the results you want to see?

While most lifts and exercises can be “taught” via descriptions, videos, and video chat sessions, there are a few that I strongly believe should be taught in person. Does this mean you have to spend hundreds of dollars training with someone just to learn a lift? Not necessarily. Many gyms offer introductory PT sessions, and most personal trainers can be hired on an hourly basis. Find someone who is local and qualified, and have them help you with these crucial lifts before beginning a program on your own. Your body will thank you later!

Exercises that should be done WITH a trainer:

Deadlift

The deadlift is a highly technical lift that utilizes just about your entire body. From head to heels, there are important movement and stabilization cues that a trainer can give to you in real time that you just can’t get through video or descriptions. When this lift moves into the heavy weight ranges, improper form can be dangerous (although proper form makes this one of the most beneficial lifts you can do, period).

Without proper cues and corrections, an improper deadlift can lead to muscle strains (best case) or spinal injury (worst case). I’m not saying this to scare you, but I am saying this to let you know that if you have a trainer who has prescribed you traditional or sumo deadlifts and you have never performed them before, it’s essential to work with someone in person before performing this lift with any significant weight. Heck, even light weight deadlifts can pose a problem with horrific form.

The deadlift incorporates different phases and essential movements, all of which are important to master before ever weighting the barbell (or picking up the barbell at all). Find someone who can train you on proper hip hinging, grip, core stabilization and lock out mechanics, and you’ll be good to go.

The exception to this would be dumbbell or lighter weight Romanian Dead Lifts or Trap Bar Deadlifts. Both of these can be performed safely with good instruction, but I would still recommend a video session with your trainer to ensure that your hip hinge is sufficient to be performing these types of lifts.

Kettlebell Swing

Kettlebell swings, just like deadlifts, are extremely technical in terms of proper form. From your set up before even touching the KB, to the way in which the KB is placed on the ground at the end of a set (and every important aspect in between), there is a lot of room for error here. The swing is something that should be learned incrementally, with a trained professional before attempting it on your own. With the combination of the all-important hip hinge, plus the highly dynamic momentum of the movement, there is too much potential for injury if done incorrectly. Not only is this a technical lift, but it is also pretty advanced.

If you are someone who has little experience with weight lifting and proper movement patterns, I would suggest staying away from this one until you A)have gained a little bit more experience in the weight room building your base strength movements and B)have perfected the hip hinge with a qualified professional.

Olympic Lifting – Clean/Snatch/Clean and Jerk

Olympic lifts are far and away some of the most technical lifts that you can do or be asked to do. Yes, your neighbor Susie does these all the time at Crossfit (at insanely high reps, usually with questionable form), and she’s never lifted before joining this gym! But that doesn’t that you should be doing them too. I am a firm believer in mastering the major lifting motions (push and pull for both upper body and lower body movements) as well as proper core bracing before attempting anything as advanced as a clean and jerk. Hoisting a heavy barbell over your head without first properly addressing strength and mobility concerns is just asking for disaster — whether that means injury or sheer embarrassment in the gym. Do yourself a favor, and stay away from these unless you have considerable time to work with a coach one on one. And this shouldn’t be just any coach — you should see someone who is experienced and trained in olympic lifting. Otherwise, it’s not much better than doing it on your own, to be honest.

These are lifts that I won’t program for my own clients if I’m not seeing them in person (and I don’t program olympic lifts in general). Please be wary of trainers who will throw highly advanced exercises at you without any sort of movement assessment or in-person session ahead of time. If something feels too advanced for you, check in with your trainer before charging ahead. Keep yourself safe, and worry about impressing others later. You won’t be impressing anyone when you’re sidelined from injury, so always remember: form comes first!

Note: If you’re interested in in-person (Boston area only) personal training or online/distance coaching, please check out my page at Rondeau Heath and Wellness. I have several packages/offerings to fit any level and/or budget. Happy training!

About a week ago I posted Part I of this series, talking about the myth behind lactic acid. If you didn’t check it out then, go now! And then come back here of course.

Today we’re tackling another myth, and it’s one that seriously blows my mind every time I hear it. It’s something that you hear come from the mouths of many people in the fitness world, and I’ve never understood why.

Check out any women’s magazine, a million articles online about how to build/maintain the “perfect” physique, and in the press of many, many celebrity trainers and you’ll see 3 words that make me cringe like no other:

Long, Lean Muscles.

What does that even mean? If you’ve seen that before and wondered weather you too could turn your short, stumpy, unattractive* muscles into long, lean and lovely ones…

….well…

I hate to break it to you, but it ain’t gonna happen. And you’re in the right place to set that thinking go, let it be free to fly away and never come back again.

If you have long a long, lean muscular frame, then congrats! You win at life.** But if you’re one of us who wasn’t born that way, I can tell you with 100% certainty that you’ll never, ever reach that goal.

No, I’m not here to trample all over your dreams like a mad woman, I’m just telling you the simple truth. Muscle length comes down to one thing: genetics, and if you don’t have it, you can’t create it with any workout plan. No matter how flashy the marketing or how charismatic the spokesperson, you cannot create long, lean muscles. It’s impossible.

Not with yoga, not with barre, not with pilates or yogalates or whatever you choose to do.. and certainly not with 2 lb pink dumbbells.

#nope

Let’s break it down to the science for a second.

Your muscles are attached to bones through tendons at each end. Some muscles have just one tendon at each end (origin and insertion), and others have multiple attachment points, such as your bicep which splits into a long head and short head, which attach within the same vicinity of your shoulder, but separate from each other to provide a more complex movement pattern for that particular muscle.

Each and every muscle has a muscle belly (the main part of the muscle), the musculotendinous junction (where the muscle fuses with tendon) and the tendon which then inserts into bone. These attachments form levers in your body, which is the reason we can move, jump, dance, wiggle, and any other type of movement your body desires. Without these insertions, our muscles would have no way to move our bones, thus, we would be left lying around like a bag of rocks.

Now let’s think about what people are implying by talking about forming “longer, leaner muscles”. They are, in essence, implying that through training, you can detach the tendon from one part of your bone, and re-attach it somewhere farther away. This is the only way you could form longer muscles (and I’m not sure where the leaner portion comes into this equation).

“The PiYo workout can in no way make your muscles longer, but through proper nutrition and exercise you could potentially become leaner!” There, fixed that for ya.

Sound ridiculous? Of course it does! Because it’s pure nonsense. Without changing the positioning of your muscles and tendons, it’s impossible to make them longer than they already are. I hate to break it to you, but the length of your quad muscle is determined by the length of your femur, not the way you train it. Want longer thigh muscles? Get new parents. Before you were even born, your DNA determined how long your bones would be, thus how long your muscles would be. There is no way to change this through training, no matter how much Tracie Anderson tries to get you to believe otherwise.

But what about stretching? Doesn’t that make my muscles longer?

Nope, sorry. We’re not changing muscle length here. We can change elasticity to some extent through manual therapy, proper warm ups, and possibly stretching, but these things will not alter the physiological length of your muscles. You can get all of the soft tissue work in the world, stretch for 30 minutes every morning, and your muscle will still originate and insert on exactly the same points of your bones, and unless you suffer a tendon rupture (trust me, this is NOT something you want to happen!), these attachment points will never change. You will never, ever create a longer, leaner physique.

If you look at your legs in the mirror and see some short, stumpy muscles, I hate to break it to you but that won’t change. Embrace the shape that you have developed, and embrace the shape that you can someday reach through training. But the present you needs to understand the realistic boundaries of the future you. If you’re not Giselle and have legs for days, you’re never going to have legs for days. But so what? Giselle is Giselle and you are you. And unless your life’s dream is to join the Radio City Rockettes, those legs don’t mean a thing. Seriously!

But what about becoming leaner? I can do that, right?

Of course! Through the process of decreasing body fat, which will come from a combination of proper training and proper nutrition (mostly nutrition here), you can absolutely become leaner. The problem here is when this is combined with “longer” in the original phrase, and then it becomes unrealistic. Training (and eating) for leanness is a commitment and a challenge, but it has nothing to do with the length of your muscles. In addition, training with certain weight or rep schemes to make your muscles appear leaner, as some fitness pros would like you to believe, is also not possible. You can become leaner through one means, and that is decreasing body fat. You can not change the shape of your muscles to make them appear leaner, and you can not train in certain movement patterns to alter their shape or form.

Muscles are fairly unique from person to person, yes, but they are all built up of the same building blocks. We can not mold them into new shapes, we can only help them to become stronger, larger, smaller, or more defined, depending on your training and nutrition.

Next time a trainer or fitness personality tells you that they can help you change the shape and look of your muscles, stop and ask yourself if what they are proposing sounds like it is even remotely based in reality. And then ask yourself why you should be bothering with someone who wants to change who you are genetically, to change what it is that makes you really you? And then, last but not least, run away. Run far far away (whether that’s through internet clicks or through your gym door), and find someone who will train you for you. Someone who will train your strengths and help you reach your goals, not try to push some magical fairy dust on you just for a few bucks. You can do better, your body can do better.

Embrace your body for what it is, and train to reach your best potential every day. Forget the length of your muscles, and focus on the strength, the power, the ability to help you perform every day tasks with ease. That is what trainers should be pushing on you, because that, my friends, is real life.

*that’s what they want you to believe. Trust me, even if your muscles are short and stumpy, they are beautiful because they are yours!

**Also what they want you to believe. However, lovely as they are, it’s just the luck of the draw, folks. No winning here!

A while back I wrote a a post about the number one exercise you should be doing to build a bigger and stronger back side — you can check that out here. While that is absolutely the #1 exercise for glutes in my opinion, there are several others that deserve mention as well.

First of all, why is this muscle group so important to train? No, it’s not just about sculpting a J-Lo-esque backside, although who doesn’t want that? It’s about the health and comfort of everything from your low back on down to your toes. Yes, your glutes play a huge part in the health of just about every joint from the low back down, including your hips, knees, and ankles. Don’t believe me? That’s another post for another time (and one that is coming soon, don’t worry!) But know this: just about all of the athletes that I treat for injuries end up doing significant amounts of gluteal work no matter what their lower body woe. Ankle sprain? Glutes. Hip muscle strain? Glutes. Chronic low back pain? Glutes. And do you know what? They get better.

There’s a reason that one of my athletes wrote me a card at the end of this year which said that the #1 thing that she learned from me this year was that “glutes save lives”. It’s probably my most beloved muscle group, as well as a muscle group that ends up severely untrained and underutilized in much of the population (yes, even the very active population that I see in collegiate sports).

And although they are a hugely powerful muscle group, in many people they become inhibited and underutilized, mainly due to hours spent sitting…and sitting and sitting every single day. What that means is that sometimes just doing squats and lunges isn’t enough, because if your gluteus muscles aren’t “awake”, other muscle groups such as your hip flexors and hamstrings will take over for them. Thus beginning/continuing a feedback loop of never ever using those muscles for much of anything. And that’s not good for anyone.

So what can you do? There are certain exercises out there that are just about guaranteed to activate and strengthen your gluteal group, as long as they are performed correctly. One of the best is the hip thruster, which was mentioned above. However, a glute exercise worth honorable mention is the Cable Pull Through.

This is a lift that yes, looks quite awkward, and may make you a bit uncomfortable at first. But once you get over that, it’s a hell of a booty builder! You can thank me later. And hey — if you’re already on the hip thrusters bandwagon, there’s almost nothing more awkward than thrusting your hips up in the air while making eye contact with a perfect stranger. So you can do this, I promise!

The Set Up

You’re going to set up a cable machine with the rope handle attachment at the lowest level, and a light to moderate weight on the weight stack. Stand with your back to the machine, feet about hip width apart, hinge your hips, and reach through your legs to grab the rope handle.

The Action

Keeping your back in that nice healthy flat position, with your hips pushed back and knees slightly bent, pull the handle until you feel tension on the cable. You may have to step forward a few steps. Keeping your back flat the entire time, squeeze your glutes and thrust your hips forward, bringing your torso to an upright position. You are essentially performing a very similar movement to the Romanian Dead Lift, just with a cable between your legs instead of a bar in front of your legs.

If you’ve been following along, you’ll realize that this is where it makes most people uncomfortable.

At the top of the position, give your glutes a good squeeze to “lock out” the movement, taking care to not hyperextend or arch your low back at the top. Your hands, and the rope, will end up right between your legs.

Yes, right in your danger zone. 😉

Here I am doing these last week. Not only are they a great glute accessory exercise, but they are a great alternative to super heavy dead lifts during pregnancy!

Slowly hinge your hips back, and return so that your hands are between your legs, down at about between your knees.

Special Notes

As in all deadlifting and hip hinge type exercises, your back position is extremely important here. During the hinge phase, you must take extra care to make sure that your back doesn’t arch or round too much, and at the top position, you must again take care to not arch your lower back (which you might do if the weight is too much and you’re using your back to compensate for lack of glute strength). Don’t be the hero just to lift more weight — you’re not impressing anyone and you’re opening yourself up for serious injury!

If you are away from the gym or if your gym does not have a cable machine set up, these can also be done with a resistance band attached to something low and solid on the ground, such as a fence post or a post of a power rack.

One of my awesome bootcamp ladies doing these last week with the band attached to a fence. Take your workout anywhere!

Start with the weight quite low — try about 15 lb, and increase from there. Much better to start too light than to go too heavy and risk injury.

Build those booties people, glutes save lives!

Any questions? Do you include cable pull throughs in your workouts at all? If you try these for the first time, let me know how you like them!

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Welcome!

Welcome to I Train Therefore I Eat! I'm Stephanie Rondeau MS, ATC, CSCS, CHC, and I'm a certified health coach and personal trainer in Boston, MA. My goal is to motivate and inspire, and to help people lead healthier, happier lives, free of food guilt and deprivation.I offer personal training, bootcamp classes, and health coaching services both locally and for distance clients. I hope you enjoy what you find here, and please feel free to contact me for more information on services. Welcome, and I hope you stick around for a while!

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